4743

5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers

Vitex cofassus Reinw. ex Blume

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Vitex in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Bijdr. fl. Ned. Ind.: 813 (1826).

Indonesia: gofasa, gupasa (general), sassuwar (Irian Jaya). Papua New Guinea: vitex, garamut, bitum.

Sulawesi, the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.

The timber is used for house construction, boats and domestic utensils such as bowls and platters, and is exported in fairly large amounts from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

A medium-sized to fairly large tree, up to 40 m tall, with bole up to 130 cm in diameter, extremely deeply and strongly fluted; leaves 1-foliolate (sometimes 2—3-foliolate in young trees), leaflets glabrous or pubescent below; inflorescence terminal, paniculate; calyx without or with very small lobes, corolla whitish to pale purple; fruit subglobose, c. 5 mm (—12 mm) in diameter, dark violet when mature. Vitex cofassus is common, locally co-dominant, in lowland forest, sometimes in montane forest up to 2000 m altitude. The density of the wood is 530—940 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content; the wood is strong and durable. See also the table on wood properties.

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[228]Hellinga, G., 1950. Resultaten van de proeftuinen voor boomgewassen sedert 1937. Loofhoutsoorten II [Results from trial plots for trees since 1937. Deciduous trees II]. Rapport No 27. Bosbouwproefstation, Buitenzorg. 29 pp.
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[289]Keating, W.G. & Bolza, 1982. Characteristics, properties and uses of timbers. Vol. 1. South-East Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific. Inkata Press Proprietary Ltd., Melbourne, Sydney & London. 362 pp.
[341]Lam, H.J., 1919. The Verbenaceae of the Malayan Archipelago, together with those from the Malayan Peninsula, the Philippines, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Palau-, Marianne- and Caroline-Islands. M. de Waal, Groningen. 370 pp. + 3 plates.
[344]Lam, H.J. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1921. Revision of the Verbenaceae of the Dutch East Indies and surrounding countries. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, STrie III, 3: 1–116.
[439]Moldenke, H.N., 1955. Materials toward a monograph of the genus Vitex III. Phytologia 5(6): 257–280.
[482]Pape, R. (Editor), 1973. New Horizons – Forestry in Papua New Guinea. Department of Forests, Papua New Guinea. Jacaranda Press Pty Ltd, Brisbane. 70 pp.
[526]Research Institute of Wood Industry, 1988. Identification, properties and uses of some Southeast Asian woods. Chinese Academy of Forestry, Wan Shou Shan, Beijing & International Tropical Timber Organization, Yokohama. 201 pp.
[558]Seran, D., 1987. Percobaan penanaman Vitex cofassus Reinw. pada daerah dataran rendah di kompleks hutan Andi Pangerang Pettarani, Pare-Pare, Propinsi Sulawesi Selatan [Trial on the cultivation of Vitex cofassus Reinw. in the lowland area of the Andi Pangerang Pettarani Forest Complex, Pare-Pare, South Sulawesi Province]. Jurnal Penelitian Kehutanan (Ujung Pandang) 1(1): 9–16.
[706]Whitmore, T.C., Tantra, I.G.M. & Sutisna, U., 1986–1990. Tree flora of Indonesia. Checklists for Sumatra, Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tengara & Timor, Maluku and Kalimantan. 6 volumes. Agency for Forestry Research and Development, Forest Research and Development Centre, Bogor.
[731]Working group on utilization of tropical woods, 1978. Properties of some Papua New Guinea woods relating with manufacturing processes VI–IX. Bulletin of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Japan No 299: 23–187.

R.H.M.J. Lemmens

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 1995. Vitex cofassus Reinw. ex Blume. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Soerianegara, I. and Wong, W.C. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea